Let's Do London Campaign Comparison

Emma Best: How will your “Let’s Do London” campaign differ from the “London is Open” and “Because I’m a Londoner” campaigns?

The Mayor: ‘Let’s Do London’ is our largest ever domestic tourism campaign and is designed to attract Londoners and domestic visitors to the capital. It aims to kick-start the central London economy and drive footfall and spend across our city’s hospitality, culture and retail industries as the pandemic restrictions are easing out.
‘Because I’m a Londoner’ targeted Londoners to support their local hospitality businesses at a time when these businesses were struggling as a result of the pandemic.
‘London is Open’ is an internationally focused campaign, showing that London is a city that welcomes people from all over the world.

Prioritising Advertising Campaigns

Emma Best: Why did you prioritise spending £6 million on another advertising campaign rather than directly supporting London’s small businesses with that funding?

The Mayor: London’s economy – which includes large numbers of small businesses - relies on huge levels of domestic and international tourism. However, due to the pandemic, consumer spending in central London has significantly decreased. My Let’s Do London campaign is designed to support London’s businesses and it brings together leading hospitality, culture and retail organisations to attract Londoners and UK visitors into central London.
Research from Merlin has found that for every £1m invested in advertising outside London, 1,200 jobs are secured in London. 1 in 7 jobs in London are in tourism and hospitalityso getting tourists back into the capital is vital. Spreading these funds across tens of thousands of small businesses as very small direct grants would provide them with little benefit compared to funding marketing and activations which will encourage visitors back to spend their money across London’s hospitality, culture and retail sectors.
I continue to support SMEs via my London Business Hub, my Back to Business Fund which launched in July 2020 and my Pay it Forward London campaign which has so far helped SMEs raise over £2.5m.

Let's Do London Junk Food

Andrew Boff: Will your Let’s Do London Campaign be promoting junk food or businesses which produce or sell junk food?

The Mayor: The hospitality sector has been impacted hugely by COVID-19 and my Let’s Do London campaign will promote the breadth and excellence of London’s hospitality offer with a wide range of choices for Londoners of all ages.
Restrictions on advertising food and drink high in fat, salt or sugar on the TfL estate will continue to support my commitment address child obesity.

New Piccadilly Circus Logo (3)

Nicholas Rogers: Other than Piccadilly Circus, what other stations are due to be rebranded as part of the “Let’s Do London” campaign?

The Mayor: David Hockney's playful artwork appeared on the digital screens at Piccadilly Circus only for a limitedtime period. There are currently no plans to rebrand stations.
TfL’s long standing Art on the Underground programme will continue to commission artists to enrich the Tube’s environment for all Londoners.

New Piccadilly Circus Logo (4)

Nicholas Rogers: In future, will the Mayor commit to commissioning less well-known local artists in London instead of those who are already well-established?

The Mayor: I am absolutely committed to supporting artists, creative freelancers and performers at all levels in their careers and across every borough.
A number of my programmes such as London Borough of Culture, Creative Enterprise Zones and my CultureatRisk Office continue to support artists with commissions, affordable workspace, micro-grants and tailored advice. ‘Let’s Do London’ will also support artists and creative practitioners throughout the year as the campaign develops.
TfL’s long-standing Art on the Underground programme will continue to commission artists to enrich the Tube’s environment for all Londoners.

New Piccadilly Circus Logo (1)

Nicholas Rogers: By what process was David Hockney commissioned to design a new Piccadilly Circus logo?

The Mayor: David Hockney, one of our greatest living artists, kindly gifted London this digital artwork to our city to help encourage visitors back to central London.
His artwork appeared on the digital screens at Piccadilly Circusfor a limitedtime; it linked to his new exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts and the Circa Picadilly Circus screen project and helped launch my Let’s Do London campaign. No funds were allocated and I am very grateful to David for his support.

New Piccadilly Circus Logo (2)

Nicholas Rogers: What were the reasons for commissioning a well-established artist who lives abroad as opposed to identifying an up-and-coming artist who lives in London?

The Mayor: David Hockney, one of our greatest living artists, kindly gifted London his art to celebrate our city and encourage visitors back to central London.
Supporting emerging artists and creatives will be a key part of ‘Let’s Do London’ as it continues to develop throughout the year.In addition, programmes such as London Borough of Culture, Creative Enterprise Zones and my CultureatRisk Office continue to support artists with commissions, affordable workspace, micro-grants and tailored advice

E-scooters and the dangers they present, Brent and Harrow Constituency

Krupesh Hirani: Please can you advise what the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is doing to prevent injury to pedestrians from the reckless use of e-scooters on the pavement?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Roads and Transport Policing Command has been carrying out enforcement activity over recent months, with targeted days of action stopping e-scooter riders. In the first four months of 2021, the MPS has seized 595 E-scooters due to insurance and licence offences
The MPS is working with TfL, participating London boroughs and the trial operators to ensure that riders of the rental e-scooters do so in a safe and legal way. This includes rider training, communications and awareness raising campaigns, the use of no-go and go-slow zones, warnings, on-street teams identifying risky behaviour and warnings riders.

Because I'm A Londoner Campaign KPIs

Shaun Bailey: Following your response my question 2020/3692, please can you provide a copy of the KPIs used for the “Because I’m a Londoner” campaign?

The Mayor: London & Partners convened an Alliance of over 600 London businesses to launch the city-wide, ‘Because I’m a Londoner’ campaign this summer to build consumer confidence and encourage consumer spending.
Key activity points for the campaign included the summer holidays and October half-term. The Christmas phase of the campaign was underway, encouraging Londoners to safely and responsibly explore London’s attractions, but has been paused while London is in Tier 3.
London & Partners used an external research agency to measure the outcomes of the campaign between July-October. Evaluation of the campaign shows it was highly effective. The campaign successfully achieved a 5% absolute increase in consumer confidence. Polling indicated that 58% of Londoners who were regular users of hospitality, retail and leisure facilities before coronavirus were aware of the campaign. Those Londoners spent on average £51 more on leisure than those who didn’t see the campaign.

Tourism Targets

Shaun Bailey: What are your tourism targets for London over the next 3 years? Please give a full breakdown.

The Mayor: Tourism performance is measured by international visitor numbers to London. This is monitored by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) through the international passenger survey. Official inbound tourism statistics from the ONS have only been published up to June 2020 at time of writing, and detailed statistics only up to March 2020.
The global Covid pandemic has meant a reduced mobility of people both internationally and - until very recently - within the UK. Given this uncertainty we can expect international tourism numbers for London to remain significantly reduced. This is why I’m partnering with businesses in London’s tourism and hospitality sector to attract much needed domestic visitors to London and drive consumer spending to support jobs and economic recovery.

Vision for Tourism Update

Shaun Bailey: Since your answer to my question 2020/2750, you have launched your new domestic tourism campaign “Let’s Do London”. Will your Vision for Tourism be updated accordingly?

The Mayor: Let’s Do London focuses on attracting Londoners and domestic audiences to the capital to drive consumer spend, supporting jobs and economic recovery.
The Vision for Tourism is a strategy for attracting international visitors to London over the longer-term. Currently, international visitors are facing travel restrictions. There is no immediate plan to review the Tourism Vision.

Central Activities Zone

Marina Ahmad: How will you support the Central Activities Zone in London to recover from the pandemic during your second term as Mayor?

The Mayor: I willpromote the recovery of the Central Activities Zone through various initiatives, building on recommendations fromresearch that I recentlycommissioned.
I announced plans for the capital’s biggest ever domestic tourism campaign, Let’s Do London, allocating £6 million to help kick-start London’s economy as COVID restrictions are eased. It brings together the capital’s world-leading hospitality, nightlife, culture and retail venues to attract Londoners and visitors from across the UK back to central London, increasing footfall and consumer spending to support jobs and economic recovery.
I will work withpartners, includingboroughs, todevelopashared vision for the Central Activities Zone in the medium-long termas a placethat meets the needs and provides real opportunities for London’s residents, businesses and visitors.
I continue to lobby the Government on issues which affect the economic competitiveness of the Central Activities Zone, including funding for TfL, funding targeted to the Central Activities Zone and appropriate support for London businesses and workers.

Let’s Do London (2)

Marina Ahmad: How will your Let’s Do London campaign support London’s economy to recover from the pandemic?

The Mayor: My Let’s Do London campaign brings together London’s leading hospitality, culture and retail organisations to attract Londoners and visitors from across the UK back to central London.This is critically important for London’s economic recovery as City Hall analysis shows that consumer spending in central London by overseas tourists was £7.4 billion lower throughout 2020, while domestic tourists spent £3.5 billion less. Let’s Do London aims to increase consumer expenditure in central London.
1 in 7 jobs in London are in tourism and hospitality(1 in 5 if you include retail), so getting tourists back into the capital will be vital for our economic revival and securing jobs.

Let’s Do London (1)

Marina Ahmad: Are the Government supportive of your Let’s Do London campaign, and if so, how are they supporting it?

The Mayor: Last month, the BEIS Secretary of State wrote to me confirming that it is of critical importance to government that central London recovers quickly as restrictions are loosened further. My officers have been working with government to promote the visitor economy, with my Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries Justine Simons OBE recently visiting the Transport Museum along with the Minister for Tourism and Minister for London to jointly promote visitors to cultural venues.
Through the London Transition Board, we have briefed government on the Let’s Do London campaign. This has included requests for additional funding, as the scale of the challenge facing London is huge and will continue until the return of international tourism. As 25% of the UK’s economic output comes from London and it contributed net £38.7 billion to the Treasury before COVID-19, I am keen to work more closely with Government on London’s tourism recovery.

Let's Do London Metrics

Tony Devenish: Can you advise what metrics are included in the “Let’s Do London” campaign to ensure every penny spent drives real outputs, e.g. jobs, jobs, jobs for Londoners? Please provide a copy of all metrics used.

The Mayor: My Let’s Do London campaign aims to attract visitors back to the Central Activities Zone (CAZ), increasing footfall and consumer spending.This will protect jobs and kickstart growth by contributing to the resurgence of economic activity in the CAZ.
We will track the impact of the campaign on people’s intentions to take a trip to London (either for a day trip or for short, overnight trips) to gain insights that will inform campaign optimisation. Through a mixture of campaign recall, analysing footfall data, and surveying respondents weekly, the campaign will use the Gross Value Added economic impact model to evaluate its impact.
Research from Merlin has found that for every £1m invested in advertising outside London, 1,200 jobs are secured in London. 1 in 7 jobs in London are in tourism and hospitalityso getting tourists back into the capital is vital.

Let’s Do London (3)

Marina Ahmad: How can more of London’s businesses become involved in the Let’s Do London campaign?

The Mayor: Let’s Do London has been created in partnership with the city’s hospitality, culture, and retail industries as part of the London Tourism Recovery Board (LTRB). The LTRB includes umbrella organisations representing hundreds of businesses, like the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, Heart of London Business Alliance and UK Hospitality. Additional businesses from these sectors who have come together to support the campaign include the Barbican, Hilton Hotels, the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, London Zoo and many others.
We are encouraging all London business to get involved in the campaign. They can do so by using the assets in the dedicated Let’s Do London toolkit which can be found on London & Partners’ website on the Tourism Recovery Campaign page: https://www.londonandpartners.com/about-us/london-recovery.
Tourism businesses have also been invited to share content, offers and events for consideration and possible inclusion on the Visit London hub and across channels.

Article 4 Directions (2)

Sakina Sheikh: What steps are you taking to help boroughs protect their areas with Article 4 Directions?

The Mayor: I am working with London Councils and Local Planning Authorities across the capital and with the High Streets for All Mission Co-ordination Group (part of the London Recovery Board governance structures) to ensure that the impacts of the Government’s new permitted development rights on London’s high streets are mitigated as far as possible.
I intend to produce a strategic evidence report which will provide support for councils seeking to introduce targeted Article 4 Directions to remove the new permitted development rights in London’s vibrant commercial, business and cultural areas, including the Central Activities Zone, the Northern Isle of Dogs, town centres and high street locations. This will complement the local evidence produced by individual councils for their areas.

Let's Do London Campaign and Existing Campaigns

Susan Hall: How will the existing “London is Open” and “Because I’m a Londoner” campaigns fit in with your new “Let’s Do London” campaign?

The Mayor: ‘London is Open’ and ‘Because I’m a Londoner’ are not currently active campaigns. Both were focused on supporting and celebrating London and reflected the challenges of the times while they were active.
Let’s Do London is a time limited campaign designed to attract domestic visitors and Londoners to the capital to kick-start the central London economy and drive spend in our city’s hospitality, culture and retail industries in the absence of international visitors.
‘Because I’m A Londoner’ was a time-limited campaign in 2020 encouraging Londoners to support their local hospitality businesses at a time when these businesses were struggling to survive because of the pandemic.
‘London is Open’ is an internationally focused campaign to demonstrate that London is a united city welcoming people from all over the world.

Divestment of GLA Group Pensions

Leonie Cooper: How much is the potential divestment from GLA group pensions and investments from fossil fuels into green investments worth? When do you expect to this to have been divested by?

The Mayor: Whilst the GLA does not control the London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA) or other pension funds for the GLA group, I have worked with the LPFA to divest from fossil fuel investments and develop a climate change policy for the fund.
Since 2016 the Fund has reduced its listed equity investments in fossil fuels by over 90%, from £43.6 million to £2.9 million, including from companies such as ExxonMobil, Coal India, BP and Shell. As of February 2021, just0.05% of the LPFA’s Assets Under Management are investments in fossil fuels and I have committed to taking steps to divest fully.
I have also committed to undertake similar work with TfL to encourage their independent £10.6 billion pension fund to achieve the same objective, ensuring investments are socially and environmentally ethical.

Reviving Central London's Economy

Shaun Bailey: One of your manifesto commitments is to work to revive central London’s economy. How will you be measuring your work on this and what targets have you set?

The Mayor: Central London and specifically the Central Activities Zone will play an essential part in recovery, delivering jobs and growth.
I announced plans for the capital’s biggest ever domestic tourism campaign, Let’s Do London, allocating £6 million to help kick-start London’s economy as COVID restrictions are eased. It brings together the capital’s world-leading hospitality, nightlife, culture and retail venues to attract Londoners and visitors from across the UK back to central London, increasing footfall and consumer spending to support jobs and economic recovery.
We will track the impact of the campaign on people’s intentions to take a trip to London (either for a day trip or for short, overnight trips) to measure our success as well as gain insights that will inform campaign optimisation. Through a mixture of campaign recall, analysing footfall data, and surveying respondents weekly, the campaign will use the Gross Value Added economic impact model to evaluate its impact.

Sale of knives in Brent & Harrow (3)

Krupesh Hirani: Please can you advise what initiatives you or North West BCU have in place to prevent the illegal sale of knifes to underage Londoners in Brent and Harrow? Please also advise how you are working with the local borough councils to address this issue.

The Mayor: North West BCU is engaged in delivering several preventative measures regarding the illegal sale of knives to minors. These include test purchasing in local shops to identify those vendors who may be selling knives without checking identification. Action is taken against vendors who do not meet the requirements of the legislation, including training and, potentially, prosecution. MOPAC and the MPS part-funded the Responsible Retailer’s Toolkit which gives retailers training on how to carry out age checks safely and responsibly. There are also a wide range of preventative measures delivered in partnership with outside agencies to educate about the impact of knife crime.

Let's Do London Accessibility (2)

Susan Hall: How will you ensure the Let's Do London Campaign is accessible and appropriate for all?

The Mayor: I have pledged to be a Mayor for all Londoners and to make the city accessible for all. I am committed to this goal and my Let’s Do London campaign will adhere to these principles.
For example, on the first day that museums across the country could re-open and as part of the first phase of the Let’s Do London campaign, I announced the world’s first Dementia Friendly Venues Charter. This world-leading initiative will make sure those living with dementia in London and around the country can make the most of the city’s museums. With 40 organisations already signed up to the charter, I am committed to ensuring every Londoner with dementia and their carers have a dementia-friendly cultural space on their doorstep.

London Drugs Commission

Andrew Boff: Please can you update me on your plans for a Drugs Commission announced during your election campaign?

The Mayor: As I set out in my manifesto, I will establish a London Drug Commission of independent experts who will examine the effectiveness of our drugs laws, with a particular focus on cannabis.
Putting this together does not happen overnight, but my officials are working hard on this, and I will be very happy to provide further updates in due course.
Drugs are driving violence, damaging Londoners' health and dividing communities. It’s time for a fresh, evidence-based look at how best we can reduce the harm that drugs like cannabis cause.
The Commission will be made up of independent experts and leading figures from the fields of criminal justice, public health, politics, community relations and academia.
They will pull together the latest evidence on the effectiveness of our drugs laws, with a particular focus on cannabis.
This does not mean being soft on drugs. On the contrary, I will continue to fully support the MPS in targeting those causing harm to our communities.
And the commission will notlook at the classification of Class A drugs, which I am very clear must remain illegal.
But where I do want debate, based on the best evidence from both the UK and from across the globe, is on the most effective way to tackle violence, protect communities and reduce harm.

Let’s Do London

Marina Ahmad: How are you working with key partners such as the Southbank Centre and Shakespeare’s Globe to get London’s cultural industry moving again? How will Let’s Do London work with small, community arts projects such as those in Lambeth and Southwark?

The Mayor: I signed in for my second term as Mayor of London at the iconic Shakespeare's Globe; and announced plans for the biggest domestic tourism campaign the capital has ever seen to help London’s economy get back on its feet. My ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign will kick-start London’s economy and bring together the capital’s world-leading hospitality, nightlife, cultureand retail venues to attract Londoners and visitors from across the UK back to central London and support jobs.
Let’s Do Londonhas been created in partnership with London’s leading cultural organisations including Southbank Centre, alongside a host of food and hospitality organisations. Whilst the focus of the campaign is on London’s Central Activities Zone (including parts of both Lambeth and Southwark), where the impact on footfall, spending and jobs in culture and hospitality has been most profound. As part of the campaign, a free-to-use toolkit has been created to help all organisations in London promote their activity and amplify the message right across the capital.

Let's Do London Funding

Susan Hall: From which budget is the £6 million funding for the “Let’s Do London” campaign from?

The Mayor: The budget includes £5m from the GLA’s budget and £1m from the London Economic Action Partnership to support the economic recovery of London’s Central Activities Zone. This funding has also leveraged an additional £1m in funding and value-in-kind from industry so far.

Let's Do London David Hockney Art Funding

Susan Hall: How much funding have you allocated to the David Hockney art project as part of the “Let’s Do London” campaign? Please give a breakdown by station and individual installation.

The Mayor: David Hockney, one of our greatest living artists, kindly gifted this digital artwork to our city to help encourage visitors back to central London.His artwork appeared on the digital screens at Piccadilly Circusfor a limitedtime; it linked to his new exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts and helped launch my Let’s Do London campaign.No funds were allocated and I am very grateful to David for his support.

Let's Do London Projects

Susan Hall: Please can you give a breakdown of what exhibitions, festivals, art installations and other initiatives and projects you have, or will be allocating funds to as part of your “Let’s Do London” campaign?

The Mayor: I launched theLet’s Do Londoncampaign in response to the huge challenges faced by central London’s cultural and hospitality industry because of the impact of the pandemic.
The campaign will run throughout this year bringing together London’s leading hospitality, culture and retail organisations to attract Londoners and visitors from across the UK back to the capital and support jobs.
As part of this, there will be a programme of seasonal events and activities including a focus on opening up London for families, and ‘London Lates’ extended openings across museums, galleries and cultural and grassroots music venues. These will be coordinated and curated with industry to support and enhance the cultural, hospitality, retail and public realm, focussing on the centre; but open to all boroughs.
More details will be announced over the summer.

Let's Do London Art Installations

Susan Hall: Following the David Hockney art installation at Piccadilly Circus, how many more art installations are planned and where will they be? Please provide a breakdown of how much money has been committed and how much each one will cost.

The Mayor: There are no current further plans for more art installations at underground stations. David Hockney’s playful artwork appeared on digital advertising screens at Piccadilly Circus for a limited time.
TfL’s long-standing Art on the Underground programme will continue to commission artists to enrich the Tube’s environment for all Londoners.

Business crime offences

Unmesh Desai: Please provide a breakdown in the total number of business crimes reported in each of the last 2018, 2019, 2020 and in 2021 so far. Please break this down by crime type within business crime if possible, i.e. criminal damage, burglary, violent crime.

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service publishes business crime information via their dashboard: https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/business-crime/

Let's Do London Selection Criteria and Process

Susan Hall: Please detail the selection criteria and process for choosing which projects and businesses are funded and advertised through the “Let’s Do London” campaign? Please also confirm who the decision lies with.

The Mayor: My Let’s Do London campaign is being developed and implemented with industry bodies including the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, Heart of London Business Alliance, London Tourism Cooperative, South Bank BID, and UK Hospitality.
The aims of the campaign and events programme are to drive footfall and increase spending in central London, to support jobs and economic recovery. All spending on marketing and activation is focused on these core economic objectives. London & Partners considers businesses content, offers and events for possible inclusion across channels and ensures it aligns with the objectives of the campaign.
Final decisions relating to the campaign are made by a GLA Review Panel consisting of the Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, Deputy Mayor for Business, and Executive Director, Good Growth.

Using Taxpayers' Money Responsibly

Susan Hall: How will you be ensuring you use taxpayers’ money responsibly throughout your second term as Mayor of London?

The Mayor: The GLA Group has a rigorous process for developing and setting budgets, to ensure budget proposals are within available resource and accurately reflect my priorities and objectives.
As budgets are developed by the GLA Group bodies, they are subject to detailed discussion and scrutiny within the relevant body, and between my office and each body.
Each body has its own arrangements to ensure scrutiny and approval for individual spending proposals.
For example, the core GLA has extensive governance arrangements for ensuring taxpayers’ money is spent responsibly. Decisions on non-routine expenditure below £150,000 are taken by officers, and I take decisions on non-routine and programme spending over £150,000, following their review by senior officers in the Corporate Investment Board.
Spending in all bodies is monitored through the quarterly reporting process and improvements to the performance management framework are underway to ensure an even greater focus on value for money.
A collaboration programme, led by the GLA Group Collaboration Board, is in place to identify and deliver further efficiencies across the Group in back office and policy and delivery areas.
Spending is subject to both internal and external audit. External auditors review arrangements to secure value for money for each GLA body.
They concluded that for 2019-20, arrangements were in place to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources for all GLA Group bodies, and no adverse audit opinions were made. The 2020-21 audits will get underway shortly.